Southern California -- this just in

Bank robbery chase ends in South L.A. dash for cash

A third suspect connected to a bizarre bank robbery and pursuit was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the Sylmar area, authorities said.

Two other suspects had already been taken into custody in South Los Angeles and
police were searching for a fourth person.

The suspects, in a Volvo SUV, led authorities on a chase from Santa Clarita to South Los Angeles,
where they began throwing money out the vehicle's windows, drawing crowds eager to scoop up
the cash and culminating in a mob scene when the chase ended.

Dozens of officers,
many from the Los Angeles Police Department, were called to the
intersection of Vernon and Kansas avenues to control the crowds that gathered
around police cruisers after he chase ended.

Police
were still investigating what they called the "takeover-style robbery" reported around 10 a.m. at a Santa Clarita Bank of America branch. In addition to the third arrest, police said they were processing evidence from a black Honda discovered in the Santa Clarita
Valley that they say was connected to the crime.

LAPD
spokesman Sgt. Rudy Lopez said there was plenty of video footage of the chase that will help them identify those people who grabbed money from
the street and the suspects' vehicle.

"If
they're identified, they will be prosecuted for receiving stolen
property," Lopez said, adding that conviction on such a charge, a felony, is punishable by more than a year in prison.

Gary
Cabral, 25, was waiting for a bus when he spotted a car whizzing down
Vernon Avenue trailed by police cars. Cabral said a man in the SUV had
his head and arms out the window and was throwing money to people on the
street.

"I
saw money flying in the air and I was like, 'Let's go get it,' " Cabral
said.

He
and others made a dash for the cash. Gabral managed to grab five $1 bills off the concrete. He said he divided the money between his two nephews.

He said he only wished he had picked up $100 bills rather than $1 bills.

LAPD
Cmdr. Andy Smith said police were asking
people to turn the money in to any police station or sheriff’s office and authorities said some had done so.

Meanwhile,
all the commotion derailed some residents’ daily routines.

Richard
Cervantes was getting ready for school Wednesday morning when his mother told
him to hurry up –- there was a police chase going on near the family’s home on
Vernon Avenue.

They
needed to leave soon, but Cervantes, 19, wasn't quick enough.

"The
car came by, and all of a sudden, everyone came outside," Cervantes said.
"It was just a circus; you could see everyone on their phone calling
people. Even people I know who live like 10 blocks away were over here."

He
called his teacher and explained the situation, ultimately leaving for class at
downtown's City of Angels High School around 1 p.m.